Italy approves Montalto takeover

31 May 2005

Italy’s Antitrust Authority has given a green light to the acquisition of 100 per cent of Italian cement maker Cementificio di Montalto by Italy’s largest cement producer Italcementi, it was reported on May 30, 2005. Italcementi took over Cementificio di Montalto from Cementilce, a Rome-based unit of Cemex SA. Italy’s Antitrust body said the operation does not represent an abuse of a dominant market position and does not threaten the competition.

Cementificio di Montalto specialises in making and distributing cement and other building materials. The company owns a clinker grinding facility in Montalto di Castro, in the central Italian region of Lazio, which is not yet operational. The company also has another eight similar facilities throughout Italy. This move by Italcementi might now see a cessation of recent hostilities over trading of cement into Spain (a Cemex European heartland) out of Italy in recent times.